Intro to Trait Approaches to Personality Flashcards
what did kluckhohn and murray determine were the 3 levels of personality analysis
human nature
individual / group differences
individual uniqueness
what are the 4 domains of knowledge for defining personality
biological
intrapsychic
cognitive-social learning
personality trait
what is the intrapsychic domain
focus on instincts/needs that shape individuals’ thoughts & behaviours
sometimes out of conscious awareness
what is freud’s psychoanalytic approach
human behaviour motivated by instincts
these instincts lead to drives that are unacceptable in society
personality is developed based on how a person resolves the conflicts between instincts and living in a normal society
what does freud view as the human mind
id - pleasure principle
ego - reality principle
superego - morality principle
how does freud’s psychoanalytic approach defining personality development
linked to set stages of development
personality forms from childhood experiences of conflict resolution at the stages of development
these stages are universal, but the outcomes from resolving the conflicts shapes personality
what is murray’s hierarchy of needs
each person has a hierarchy of needs and this influences their perception of situations
what is social-cognitive learning
a focus on the cognitive / social processes that shape the different outcomes that people respond to in their environments
what is the cognitive-social learning domain
the focus on learning the association between behaviour and outcomes
behaviours will be repeated if reinforced with desirable outcomes
human personality is due to differences between personal histories of reinforcement
what is bandura’s theory of learning
social learning theory
learning through watching others fail or succeed
then reflecting on consequences of those actions
what is bandura’s self-efficacy
individuals’ behaviour is governed by self-effiacy - the extent to the belief they can exercise control over their lives
individuals differ in this and this affects performance outcomes
how is self-efficacy enhanced
mastery (successful) experiences
vicarious experiences - observation of peers
social persuasion - encouragement from a credible person with behaviour being within one’s skill set
what is larson et al’s definition of personality trait
personality is a set of psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual
these are organised in relation to the intrapsychic, physical and social environment
what is the trait approach to personality
it focuses on how individuals differ from each other
it identifies the fundamental, most important personality traits to examine how people differ from one another
it focuses on the origin, development and maintenance of personality traits
what are the 4 properties of a personality trait
temporal stability
cross-situational consistency
biological basis
predictive validity
what are the 5 ways to evaluate the biological underpinning of traits
physiological substrate
gene contribution
similar traits in non-humans
cross-cultural evidence
temporal stability
what is the “descriptive summaries” idea on causality of personality traits
the trait describes an expressed behaviour, but no attributions of the cause are made
what is the internal idea on causality of personality traits
behaviour is an expression of a biological trait
what are the 4 key questions in trait approach
how many personality traits are there
how are personality traits organised
what are the origins of personality traits
what are the correlations of traits on human behaviour
what is the personality trait structure
domains: neuroticism
facets: anxiety, anger, depression, impulsivity, vulnerability, self-consciousness
behaviours: anxiety, anger
what is the most common measure of personality traits
self-report questionnaires
what is the lexical approach of questionnaire development
traits expressed in natural language
what is the statistical approach to questionnaire development
factor analysis to identify clusters
what is the theoretical approach of questionnaire development
prior knowledge on the most important traits
what are some issues with self-report questionnaires
carelessness answering questions
giving socially desirable answers
barnum statements (statements that apply to everyone)
